Cappadocia (Roman province)

Provincia Cappadocia ἐπαρχία Καππαδοκίας
Provinceof theRoman Empire
18 AD–7th Century
The Roman empire in the time ofHadrian(117–138 AD), with theimperial provinceof Cappadocia highlighted.
Capital	Caesarea (modern-dayKayseri,Turkey)
Historical era	Antiquity
• Annexed byEmperor Tiberius	18 AD
• Thematic reorganization	7th Century
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Cappadocia Armeniac Theme Koloneia (theme) Chaldia Charsianon Sebasteia (theme) Cappadocia (theme)
Today part of	Turkey

Cappadociawas aprovinceof theRoman EmpireinAnatolia(modern central-easternTurkey), with its capital atCaesarea.It was established in 17 AD by the EmperorTiberius(ruled 14–37 AD), following the death ofCappadocia's last king,Archelaus.

Cappadocia was animperial province,meaning that its governor (legatusAugusti) was directly appointed by the emperor. During the latter 1st century, the province also incorporated the regions ofPontusandArmenia Minor.

History

The expansion of theRoman RepublicinAsia Minorfrom 188 BC until 63 BC.

Roman ally

Prior to direct imperial rule, Cappadocia was one of the successor kingdoms ofAlexander the Great's empire. The Kingdom of Cappadocia was ruled by theAriarathid dynastyfrom 331 BC until 95 BC. UnderAriarathes IV,Cappadocia first came into contact with theRoman Republicas a foe allied to theSelecuid KingAntiochus the Greatduring theRoman–Seleucid Warfrom 192 to 188 BC.

Following Rome's victory over Antiochus, Ariarathes IV entered friendly relations with the Republic by betrothing his daughter to the king ofPergamum,a Roman ally. The Ariarathid kings would thereafter become a major ally of Rome in the East. The kingdom supported the Republic as a counterweight against theSeleucid Empire,which claimed dominion over the Cappadocian kingdom. Cappadocia would also support Rome in theThird Macedonian WaragainstPerseus of Macedonfrom 171 to 166 BC. Rome's defeat of the Selecuids and Macedonia established the Republic as a major power in the eastern Mediterranean.

When KingAttalus III(138–133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathedhis kingdomto Rome.Eumenes IIIclaimed the Pergamon throne, occupying the territory. In 130 BC, Cappadocian kingAriarathes Vsupported theRoman ConsulPublius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianusin his failed attempt to overthrow Eumenes III. Both Crassus and Ariarathes V fell in battle against Eumenes III. Ariarathes V's death resulted in his minor son,Ariarathes VI,occupying the Cappadocian throne.

KingMithridates V of Pontusexerted control over Cappadocia by betrothing his daughterLaodiceto Ariarathes VI. Mithridates V would later launch a military invasion of Cappadocia, forming the kingdom into aprotectorateof theKingdom of Pontus.Though nominally independent, Pontic influence over Cappadocia was continued by his sonMithridates VI of Pontus.

In 116 BC, the Cappadocian king Ariarathes VI was murdered by the Cappadocian nobleGordiuson orders from Mithridates VI. Mithridates VI then installed his sister Laodice, Ariarathes VI's widow, as regent over for the infantAriarathes VII,further solidifying Pontic control over the kingdom. After KingNicomedes III of Bithyniamarried Laodice, he tried to annex Cappadocia into his kingdom and deposed Ariarathes VII. Mithridates VI swiftly invaded, expelling Nicomedes III from the region, restoring his nephew Ariarathes VII to the Cappadocian throne, and returning Cappadocia to Pontus'sphere of influence.

The Pontic king would later have Ariarathes VII murdered in 101 BC, with Mirthridates VI installing his eight-year-old sonAriarathes IXon the Cappadocian throne as his puppet king. As a child, Ariarathes IX was unable to maintain control of the kingdom, with the Cappadocian nobles rebelling against his rule in 97 BC and namingAriarathes VIII,son of the murdered Ariarathes VII, as king. Mithridates quickly put down the rebellion, exiled Arirarathes VIII, and restored his son to the Cappadocian throne.

Roman client kingdom (95 BC-14 AD)

In response to the turmoil in Cappadocia, in 95 BC kingNicomedes III of Bithyniasent an embassy to Rome, claiming dominion over the kingdom.Mithridates VI of Pontuslikewise sent an embassy to Rome, seeking Roman approval of his dominion over Cappadocia. TheRoman Senate,however, did not assign the kingdom to either.

Instead, the Senate demanded both Pontus and Bithynia withdraw from Cappadocia and guarantee its independence. The Senate ordered Ariarathes IX deposed. With military support from theRoman governorofCiliciaLucius Cornelius Sulla,Ariobarzanes Iwas installed as king of Cappadocia. With Ariobarzanes I installed on the throne in 95 BC, Cappadocia became aclient kingdomunder theRoman Republic.

In 93 BC, troops fromArmeniaunderTigranes the Great,son-in-law of Mithridates VI, invaded Cappadocia at the behest of the Pontic king. Tigranes dethroned Ariobarzanes I, who fled to Rome, and crownedGordiusas the new client-king of Cappadocia. With Cappadocia as aclient kingdomunder Armenia, Tigranes created a buffer zone between his kingdom and the expanding Roman Republic.

With Cappadocia secured, Mithridates invadedBithynia,defeating kingNicomedes IVin 90 BC. Nicomedes IV was forced to flee to Italy. A Senatorial delegation was sent east to restore both Nicomedes IV and Ariobarzanes I to their respective kingdoms. Though theSocial Warwas still raging in Italy, Rome was able to successfully restore both kings due to the Republic's growing influence in the region.

Mithridatic Wars (88-63 BC)

Further information:Mithridatic Wars

A map of Asia Minor in 89 BC at the start of theFirst Mithridatic War.Cappadocia, light green, is shown as a client kingdom of Pontus, dark green.

In 89 BC, after having made peace arrangement with Rome and with Ariobarzanes I restored to the Cappadocian throne, Mithridates VI again invaded Cappadocia, reinstalling his son Ariarathes IX as puppet-king under Pontic rule. Mithridates' actions in Cappadocia sparked theFirst Mithridatic War(89-85 BC) between Rome and Pontus and its ally Armenia.

Lucius Cornelius Sullaassumed command of the Roman war effort in 87 BC and soundly defeated Mithridates VI and his allies in 85 BC. His attention needed in Rome due to rising political challenges, Sulla imposed mild terms on Mithridates VI: Mithridates was to relinquish his control over Bithynia and Cappadocia, reinstating Ariobarzanes I and Nicomedies IV as Roman client-kings. In return, Rome allowed Mithridates VI to retain his rule over Pontus.

When Nicomedes IV died in 74 BC, he bequeathedBithyniato theRoman Republic.His death caused apower vacuumin Asia Minor, allowing Mithridates VI to invade and conquer the leaderless kingdom. With Mirthidates VI again having designs on Roman protectorates in Asia Minor, including Cappadocia, Rome launched theThird Mithridatic Warto end the Pontic threat. Dispatching ConsulLucius Licinius Lucullusto Asia, Rome drove Pontus and its ally Armenia out of Asia proper, reasserting Roman dominance over the Asian client kingdoms by 71 BC and conquering Pontus in the process. When Mithridates VI fled to Armenia, Lucullus invaded the kingdom in 69 BC.

Despite initial successes, Lucullus was unable to decisively end the war. By 66 BC, Mithridates VI and Tigranes were able to retake their respective kingdoms and Lucullus was recalled to Rome. The Senate then sentPompey the Greatto the East in order to bring the war to a close. Upon his defeat by Pompey, Mithridates VI again fled to Armenia. Tigranes, however, refused to receive him. Mithridates VI was then forced to flee north across theBlack Seato theBosporan Kingdomunder the rule of his sonMachares,bringing the war to an effective end in 65 BC.

When Machares refused to launch a new war against Rome, Mithridates VI had him killed and assumed the Bosporan throne for himself. While Mithridates VI was eager to fight the Romans once more, his youngest sonPharnaces II of Pontuswas not and plotted to remove his father from power. His plans were discovered, but the army, not wishing to engage Pompey and his armies, supported Pharnaces. They marched on Mithridates VI and forced their former king to take his own life in 63 BC. Pharnaces II quickly sent an embassy to Pompey with offers of submission. Pompey accepted Pharnaces II's submission and, in returned, named Pharnaces II as the Roman client king of the Bosporan Kingdom.

With Mithridates VI absent from Asia Minor, Pompey officially annexed Bithynia, Pontus, and Cilicia in the Roman Republic as provinces. Invading Armenia in 64 BC, Tigranes surrendered to Pompey and become aclient kingdomof Rome. With Armenia reduced, Pompey then traveled south and officially annexed the Roman client kingdom ofSyriain the Republic as a province by deposing its kingAntiochus XIII Asiaticus.Following the death of Ariobarzanes I, Pompey, as one of his final acts in the East before returning to Rome, installed his sonAriobarzanes IIas the new Roman client king of Cappadocia.

Ariobarzanes II reigned as Rome's client king until 51 BC when he was assassinated by forces loyal to the neighboringParthian Empire.TheRoman Senatedeclared his sonAriobarzanes IIIas his rightful successor and, with military backing from theRoman governorofCiliciaMarcus Tullius Cicero,installed him upon the Cappadocian throne. In 50 BC, Ariobarzanes III, aided by Cicero, discovered a plot byAthenais Philostorgos II,Ariobarzanes III's mother, to depose him and install his younger brotherAriarathes Xas king. Together, Cicero and Ariobarzanes III banished Athenais, who was a daughter ofMithridates VI,from Cappadocia.

Roman civil wars

Further information:Crisis of the Roman Republic

Cappadocia became an important player during theRoman Republican civil wars.WhenJulius Caesarcrossed the Rubicon River in 49 BC and startedhis civil war,many members of the Roman Senate under the leadership of Pompey fled to the East. Cappadocian KingAriobarzanes IIIinitially supported Pompey against Caesar, thankful for Pompey's support of his father years earlier. However, following Caesar's victory over Pompey at theBattle of Pharsulusand Pompey's subsequent assassination in 48 BC, Ariobarzanes III declared his loyalty to Caesar. Caesar subsequently namedGnaeus Domitius CalvinusasRoman governorofAsiato act as his chief lieutenant in Asia Minor while he traveled toPtolemaic Egypt.

With the Romans were distracted by civil war,Pharnaces II,the Roman client king of theBosporan Kingdomand the youngest son ofMithridates VI,decided to seize the opportunity and conqueredColchisandLesser Armenia(territories of the Roman province ofPontus). The rulers of Cappadocia andGalatia,Ariobarzanes III andDeiotarusrespectively, appealed to Calvinus for protection and soon the Roman forces sought battle with Pharnaces II. They met at theBattle of Nicopolisin easternAnatolia,where Pharnaces II defeated the Roman army and overran much of Cappadocia, Pontus, andBithynia.

After the defeating the Ptolemaic forces at theBattle of the Nile,Caesar left Egypt in 47 BC and travelled through Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia to face Pharnaces II. As Pharnaces II gained word of Caesar's approach with his veteran army, he sent envoys to seek a peace, which Caesar refused. Caesar met Pharnaces II at theBattle of Zela,decisively defeating the Pontic king and reassessing Roman dominance over Asia Minor. Upon his return to the Bosporan Kingdom, Pharnaces II was assassinated by his son-in-lawAsander.In return, Caesar named Asander as the kingdom's new Roman client king. Caesar then incorporated Lesser Armenia into Cappadocia to serve as a buffer from Rome's interests in Asia Minor against future Eastern aggression.

Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC, by the members of the Roman Senate,Marcus Junius BrutusandGaius Cassius Longinuschief among them. The "Liberators" then fled from Italy, assuming command of the Republic's eastern provinces and the eastern client kingdoms, including Cappadocia, in 43 BC. When Ariobarzanes III objected to the level of Roman intervention into his kingdom, Cassius had him executed and installed his younger brotherAriarathes Xupon the Cappadocian throne in 42 BC. Later that year, following the defeat of Brutus and Cassius by theSecond Triumvirateat theBattle of Philippi,TriumvirMark Antonyassumed command of the Eastern provinces and client kingdoms. In 36 BC, Antony executed Ariarathes X and installedArchelausas the new Cappadocian client king.

The Second Triumvirate expired in 33 BC, ending Antony's legal right to govern the Eastern half of the Republic. With the Triumvirate lapsed, the struggle for dominance between Antony andOctavianintensified. As Octavian built up his support in the West, Antony drew ever closer to Egyptian QueenCleopatra.WhenOctavian declared war on Egypt,Antony, supported by the Eastern client kingdoms (including Cappadocia), went to Egypt's aid against Octavian. Octavian's victory over Antony at theBattle of Actiumin 31 BC ensured Octavian's position as undisputed master of the Roman world. Traveling through Asia Minor and theLevantfrom Greece to Egypt, Cappadocian king Archelaus and the other Eastern client kings declared their loyal to Octavian. In return, Octavian allowed him and the other client kings to remain on their thrones.

When Octavian became "Augustus" as the firstRoman Emperorin 27 BC, Cappadocia become an important and trusted Eastern client kingdom, maintaining its tributary independence under the reorganizedRoman Empire.Archelaus became an important client king forAugustus' Eastern policy.Augustus considered Archelaus as a loyal ruler, making no commitment to convert Cappadocia into a direct province. As a reward for his loyalty, in 25 BC, Augustus assigned to Archelaus the territories ofCiliciaalong the easternMediterranean SeaandLesser Armeniaalong theBlack Sea.Augustus gave Archelaus these additional territories in order to eliminatepiracyin the Eastern Mediterranean and to build a buffer between Rome and theParthian Empire.

Roman province

During the Principate

Cappadocia remained an important and trusted eastern client kingdom underEmperorAugustus' reign. Rome's policy towards Cappadocia changed, however, following Augustus' death in 14 AD and the reign of EmperorTiberius.Years earlier, Tiberius had been slighted by Archelaus when the Cappadocian king showed favor toGaius Caesar,one of Augustus' grandsons and chief heirs. While Tiberius was in retirement on the Greek island ofRhodesfrom 6 BC to 2 AD, though the nominal commander of the Eastern half of the Empire, in 1 BC Archelaus recognized Gaius Caesar, then a military commander subordinate to Tiberius, as Augustus' true representative. Though Gaius Caesar was Augustus' preferred successor, his death in 4 AD while on military campaign in Armenia forced Augustus to adopt Tiberius and name him as his successor.

Assuming the Imperial throne in 14 AD, Tiberius set about a change in Rome's eastern policy. Wanting direct access to Cappadocia's resources and seeking to reduce Archelaus, Tiberius summoned Archelaus to Rome in 17 AD. At the time, Archelaus had governed Cappadocia as Rome's client king for over fifty-years. When he arrived in Rome, Tiberius accused Archelaus of harboring revolutionary schemes and imprisoned him, where he died of natural causes soon thereafter.

Sending his adoptive sonGermanicusto oversee Rome's affairs in the East, Tiberius then annexed Cappadocia directly into the Empire by reducing the kingdom into aRoman province.Tiberius awarded rule of the Roman clientkingdom of Armeniato Archelaus' step-sonArtaxias IIIand rule of the Roman clientkingdom of Ciliciato Archelaus' sonArchelaus II.Arriving in the East in 18 AD, Germanicus solidified Roman control over Cappadocia and the region. Under orders from the Emperor, Germanicus also anne xing Cappadocia's southeastern neighbor, the client kingdom ofCommagene,into the Empire as a part of the province ofSyria.

For much the 1st century AD,Polemon II of Pontusruled as a Roman client king over the remnants of the former kingdom of Pontus (Lesser ArmeniaandColchis). However, in 62 AD, the Roman EmperorNerodeposed him and annexed his kingdom into direct imperial ruled by incorporating his former territory into Cappadocia.

Bording theEuphratesriver to the east, Cappadocia was the most eastern province of the Empire. Its capital,Caesarea(modernKayseri), was located in more centralAnatolia,further back from the Parthian frontier. Upon annexation, the province was governed by agovernorofEquestrian rankwith the titleProcurator.The Procutors commanded onlyauxiliary military unitsand looked to theSenatorialrankedImperial Legateof Syria for direction.

Following theRoman civil war of 69,the EmperorVespasianupgraded the province to Senatorial rank, making its governor equal in rank with that of Syria. As a Senatorial province during the middle of the second century AD, Cappadocia retained a permanent military garrison of threelegionsand severalauxiliaryunits, totally over 28,000 troops. The military presence in Cappadocia served as an important response force against invasions from theParthian Empireand allowed the Roman's easy intervention into the affairs of their client kingdom ofArmenia.

The first Cappadocian to be admitted to theRoman SenatewasTiberius Claudius Gordianus,during the reign ofMarcus Aureliusduring the middle second century AD.

During the Dominate

Following the provincial reorganization ofDiocletian,the Pontic and Armenian territories were split off, and the province was reduced to the region of Cappadocia proper. It was headed by aconsularisand came under theDiocese of Pontus.The province was the site of a great number of imperial estates, as contemporary legislation testifies. On the highway between Constantinople and Antioch Caesarea saw a significant number of imperial visits (Itineraries of the Roman emperors, 337-361); Valens (363-378) was particularly frequent. The future emperorJulianspent his early years at a remote estate, Macellum. Class divisions between the landowning class and the urban and rural poor were extreme, as was also the climate of this upland plateau.

In the late 330s, the eastern half of the province was split off to form the provinces ofArmenia PrimaandArmenia Secunda.In 371, emperorValenssplit off the south-western region aroundTyana,which becameCappadocia Secundaunder apraeses,while the remainder becameCappadocia Prima,still under aconsularis.

Cappadocia during this period saw a generation of Christian thinkers, the most prominent of whom wereBasil of Caesarea,his close friendGregory of Nazianzos,his younger brotherGregory of Nyssa,and a cousin of the former,Amphilochios of Iconium.

Later developments

In the period 535–553, under emperorJustinian I,the two provinces were rejoined into a single unit under aproconsul.Throughout late Roman times, the region was subject to raids by theIsaurians,leading to the fortification of local cities. In the early 7th century, the region was briefly captured by theSassanid Empire.Following the eruption of theMuslim conquests,repeated raids devastated the region, which became a frontier zone under the newByzantinethemataofAnatolikonandArmeniakon.

See also

• Roman governors of Cappadocia

References

• Raymond Van Dam, Kingdom of Snow, University of Pennsylvania Press,